Assessment of Staphylococcal toxins acting as superantigens in different nasal specimens in the etiology of chronic rhinosinusitis

Abstract

The mechanism of development of chronic rhinosinusitis(CRS) is not fully known. However, bacteria are thought to play an important role in this clinic. It has been suggested that toxins with superantigen(SAgs) properties produced by one of these bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus(S.aureus), play a role in the development of inflammation associated with sinusitis. In this study, S.aureus was isolated by taking endoscopic sinus biopsy samples and nasal swab samples from patients with CRS and the control group. It was aimed to examine the frequency of S.aureus presence in the samples taken, the presence of toxin genes showing superantigen quality in these isolated bacteria, and to evaluate the roles of these parameters in the development of CRS. More S.aureus was isolated in the samples taken from patients with CRS than in the control group. The isolated S.aureus samples were analysed by real-time PCR method. The presence of enterotoxin A, B, C and D genes in the S.aureus samples isolated from the patient group were found at the rates of 54%, 32%, 16% and 16%, respectively, while these rates were 46%, 24%, 14% and 14% in the control group. The Toxic Shock Syndrome Toxin-1(TSST-1) gene was detected in 20% of the samples isolated from the patient and 46% in the control group bacteria. The fact that S.aureus was isolated in 20% of the patients shows that this bacterium is not necessary for CRS. The frequency of superantigen toxin genes in S.aureus isolates shows that these toxins are not necessary for the development of the disease.